Sill leakage preventing device



May 22, 1962 B. R. ALLEN sILL LEAKAGE PREVENTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. 18, 1960 R. m 4 mm m l 5 Am 4 R .g .n M0 ...ll .w am# M B @wG 3 .x xvu., Y a B W .0.. 4 8 m wFz \m u? M M m 5 /w S $8 E w w w A I /02 6 3 @lf \4 3 4 8 2 6 KH mw w/ Nk/ 9 M N 2 2 m n m.. Y F m m w My 22,1962 B. R. ALLEN 3,035,374

SILL LEAKAGE PREVENTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 18, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 7

- suFLooR/ Burris R. Allen INVENTOR.

. y iid, BY WW nite The present invention relates to an improvedprefabricated ready-to-install sill leakage preventing device which isexpressly, although not necessarily, adapted for use in eectivelysolving the problem of heat loss, primarily in the basement of aresidential-type house.

It is reasonable to assume that the average home owner often ponders thereason why it is difficult to uniformly heat basement rooms. He may beconversant with the fact that it is invariably necessary to utilize moreheat than anywhere else in the house but unaware of the major cause:infiltration of cold outside air resulting in heat loss. No doubt, asurvey of the situation by a qualied heating man would reveal andpin-point the basic trouble; namely, undiscovered sill leakage.

Persons conversant with the art to which the instant advance relatesare, no doubt, well aware that cracks between the customary wooden silland an improperly fitted draftstop header constitute the chiefdiiiculty. It has been the repeated experience of this applicant toobserve that cracks between the sill construction and the masonryfoundation wall Will more likely than not show daylight when carefullychecked. This condition means that outside air leaks in and, when theair is cold, this obviously interferes with the intended performance ofthe furnace or other heating source.

Aware of this problem, it has often been suggested that mortar, or acomposition of concrete and mortar, be spread atop the ledge portion ofthe masonry wall between the joists and where the draftstop header isseated either directly or indirectly on the Wall. But this hastilyapplied beam-lill, as it is often called, is unsatisfactory because itshrinks in time and does not provide the draft blocking joint and airseal desired. It can be appreciated that in a cheaply built house, wheretimbers are warped and not acceptably installed, the resulting poor sillconstruction, unless adjustments and repairs are made will continue todissipate heat and keep the basement quarters too chilly and cold forcomfort.

There has long existed a need for a properly insulated cold air stop orbarrier to combat sill leakage and an expensively, but poorly heatedbasement. It follows that the instant concept involves the adoption anduse of a simple, practical and economical prefabricated ready-touseproduct which is such that only the purchase price and willingness tocope with the requirements of purpose and correct installation arenecessary to be taken into account. With this in mind, and as a resultof experimentation, a feasible device has been perfected; one which willappeal to the manufacturing requirements of manufacturers, to retailersand sellers, and to the user and installer. Y

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. l is a fragmentary perspective View showing a States Fatent portionof the upper part of the masonry foundation wall, the joists, thesubfloor and the sill leak preventing devices (one form thereof) and howthey are constructed and utilized;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken on the vertical line 2 2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is -a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a slight modification inthe upper mounting of the device, that is, where the joists `are10-inches instead of S-inches high;

FIG. 4 is a View in perspective of the exterior or outer side of thedevice showing a protector strip being peeled off to expose the adhesiveof an attaching lip forming a lower portion of the device;

FIG. 5 is a face or elevational view of the device in flat shippableform;

FIG. 6 is a detail section on the line 6 6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view in perspective similar to FIG. l but showing a modifiedform of the device;

FIG. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a View in perspective of one of the devices by itself ready tobe installed and used'.

Briefly and generally and in both forms of the invention it will be seenthat the backing member or panel is preferably constructed of cardboard.It is provided marginally with attaching flaps. The flaps may be eitherstapled in place or glued. The outer sides or surfaces of the cardboardportions are covered with compressibly resilient packing or insulationmaterial, usually berglass.

Referring to FIGS. l to 6 and with respect to FIG. l the masonryfoundation wall is denoted at 12 and the basement spaced parallel joistsat 14. As seen in FIG. 2, the right hand ends of the joists abut atimber 16 commonly referred to in the trade as a draftstop header. Thisis an essential part of the sill construction and it rests eitherdirectly or indirectly atop the ledge portion 18 of the foundation wall.The subfloor Ztl is conventionally located and the main floor 22 islikewise installed in conjunction with the outer wall supporting studs,one of which is denoted at 24 in FIG. 2. The outer wall is shown toinclude sheathing 26 and shingles or siding 2S. The aforementionedbeam-lill is denoted at 29. This is shown to emphasize the point that itis quite commonly used in the manner illustrated but despite theintention thereof to seal the joint 30 leakage nevertheless occurs byreason of the fact that the concrete or mortar or a combination of bothused shrinks and leakage eventually occurs. This is the undesirableleakage which is intended to be overcome with the adoption and use ofthe novel insertable and removable leakage preventing draft stop. In thesimple form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 the block, pador bat of insulation is denoted at 32. This covers and is fastened overone complete side of the backing panel. In practice, the backing panelhas been made of a suitable grade of cardboard and it is denoted by thenumeral 34. The transverse vertical creases 36 define bendable attachingflaps 38. The lower extended longitudinal edge portion 40 provides anattaching lip. For S-inch joists one would use the fold line, groove orcrease 42 which defines the ilap 44. For a lll-inch joist the fold line,groove or Patented May 22, 1962 ponents 38, 40, 44 and 43 are coatedwith an attaching pressure-responsive adhesive denoted at 52 in FIG. 4.The adhesive surfaces are covered by protector strips 54 which can bereadily peeled olf.

For the S-inch joists the device is installed as seen in FIG. 2. For thelO-inch joist the device is installed in the manner seen in FIG. 3. Inboth instances the flaps or flanges are simply bent laterally and theremovable protector strips 54 are peeled off and the adhesive surfacesare brought into play and are stuck to the surfaces of the joists, thatis, the flaps 38. The flap 43 is stuck or attached to the subfloor 20.The depending lip is attached to the surface 56 of the foundation wallin the manner shown.

In FIGS. 7 and 9 the same numerals are used to designate thecorresponding foundation wall and adjacent or component parts. Thedifference is only in the construction of the unit or device which ishere used instead of the one seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. For example, in FIG.9l the rectangular panel of cardboard, constituting the backing memberand also the barrier, is denoted at 6i). The several marginal flanges orflaps are denoted at 62 and 64, respectively. Here instead of usingadhesive for attaching media the aps are simply secured by staples orequivalent fasteners as shown at 66 in FIG. 8. The aforementionedshelf-like lateral extension or apron is denoted at 68 and it isprovided along its transverse ends with attaching flanges or flaps 80.The depending flange at the left in FIG. 8 is denoted at 72 and it isreinforced by a metal sheath comprising an anchoring flange 74,component walls 76 and 78 joined by a bend 80 with the wall 78 having areturn 4bend or lip at 82. The insulaation pad is denoted generally bythe numeral 84 and the component portions 86 and S6 cover thecooperating surfaces of the panel 60 and apron 68 in the manner shown.The numeral 88 designates extensions at the ends of the lip 72 whichfunction in the installed manner seen in FIG. 7.

it will be evident from FIGS. 4 and 5 that the device is sold in flateasy-to-handle form. All that the installer has to do is follow theinstructions printed on FIG. to adapt the device for 8-inch or IO-inchjoists. FIGS. l to 3 show how the flaps or flanges are bent and pressedinto place. FIG. 4 shows how the adhesive surfaces are rendered readyfor use. 1n FIG. 2 the device is spaced from the draftstop header 16 andbeam-fill 29.

In the modification (see FIG. 8) the installation procedure requiresforcing the insulation pad 86 directly against the draftstop header 16,with the apron 68 and insulation resting atop the beam-fill. Thesheathed lip 72 aids in making the installation self-explanatory. Inthis construction, staples 66 are used, but obviously, the alreadydescribed adhesive-coated idea may be incorporated here.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a building construction, in combination, a masonry foundation wallbelow an outside wall of the building and the top of the masonry wallconstituting a sill, a timber providing a draftstop header supported onsaid sill and spaced outwardly from an inner edge of the sill, a pair ofspaced parallel joists having end portions supported on the sill andhaving ends abutting an inner side surface of said header, a floorresting atop the joists and header, sill leakage preventing meansbridging each space between outer ends of each pair of adjacent joists,said sill leakage preventing means comprising a draftstop unit capableof installation when the framework is being erected or at any convenienttime after erection has been completed,

' insulation material between said panel and said header,

the lower edge of said panel being flexibly joined to a generallyhorizontal apron-like extension which extends between the joists andover an inner portion of the sill, upwardly extending flaps connected tothe sides of said extension and secured to adjacent joists, and theunderneath side of said extension being also covered with insulationmaterial which extends over said Sill, tne free lengthwise forward edgeof said extension having rigidly connected thereto a downwardlyextending reinforced flange abutting an upper vertical surface portionof the foundation wall, said sill leakage preventing means substantiallyreducing the convection of heat through the spaces between said headerand sill and the conduction of heat through said header and the upperportion of said masonry wall.

2. In a basement level building wall framework construction, incombination, a masonry foundation wall the top of which constitutes asill, a draftstop header supported atop said sill, a pair or spacedparallel joists having end portions supported on the sill and havingterminal ends abutting an inside surface of said header, a tloorstructure resting atop the joists and header, sill leakage preventingmeans bridging each space between outer ends of each pair of adjacentjoists, said means comprising a draftstop unit embodying a panelslightly greater in vertical height and equal in horizontal length tothe depth and width respectively of the space between said joists, theends of said panel having lateral marginal flanges providing attachingflaps directed inwardly and being sealed to the joists, said flaps beingflexibly joined to the edges of said panel, an outwardly facing surfaceof said panel being completely covered with a pad of compressiblyresilient insulation material, the upper lengthwise portion of saidpanel having spaced parallel preformed lengthwise grooves definingselectively usable attaching portions flexibly connected at said groovesto said panel, said portions being cooperable with an underneath portionof the floor structure and attachable thereto whereby to enable saidportions to be used to satisfactorily adapt said unit for insulation andpractical use between joists which vary in Vertical dimensions, meanssecuring at least one of said attaching portions to said door, a bottomedge portion of said panel overlapping and contacting an upper part of avertically extending inner surface on said masonry wall.

3. For use in conjunction with Ithe end portions of basement joistswhere they cooperate with a foundation sill surface and structureincluding a draftstop header supported from a foundation wall; a flatprefabricated ready-to-install sill leakage preventing joist attachmentcomprising la pad of compressibly resilient insulation material of asize and shape permitting the same to be plugged into a channel-likespace between opposed vertical surfaces of a pair of spaced paralleljoists in a manner to block the circulation of drafty cold air currentsthat might otherwise flow along the space and undesirably lower thebasement room temperature, and a relatively rigid flat backing panel,said pad of insulation material xedly mounted on an exterior side ofsaid panel, said panel being adapted to span said space and havinglaterally bendable installing and attaching flaps disposed along the topand vertical end portions of the panel, the lower longitudinal edgeportion of said panel depending a short distance below the vertical endflaps and constituting an attaching lip which may be secured to asurface of the 6 foundation wall, the attachable sides of .the attachinglip References Cited in the le of this patent and said yattaching flapsbeing coated with adhesive rna- UNITED STATES PATENTS terial whichfacilitates sticking the lip `and retaining it in 332,491 Clay Dec. 15,1885 used between joists of varying heights.

